


Relationship Advice

by Lukas17



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-07-10 20:14:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7004779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lukas17/pseuds/Lukas17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's impossible to push two people together. What you can do is gently nudge them into each others faces.</p><p>Hartmon Week: Mutual Pining</p><p>*Un-betaed</p>
            </blockquote>





	Relationship Advice

**Author's Note:**

> I did not understand this prompt.

Iris had a masters in Criminal Psychology and she would be damned if that work and money wouldn't be used for the betterment of lives even if that was only in a small way.

Cisco had been sitting behind his computer not so subtly going through his phone. Every five minutes he'd return to Hartley's entry in his phone before tapping away and going to his solitaire app. Iris would have pressed the call button for him if she thought it would help.

Unfortunately the first lesson she learned in psychology was that you can only help people looking for it. Cisco hadn't asked her if she'd seen Hartley. Hadn't asked her if he'd stopped by Jitters recently while she was there on lunch and had come up to ask her all about Cisco. Asked what he'd been doing, how he was, was there any work he could help out with, and one quick, uninspired question about Barry.

She could help him forcefully. Could tell him to call and talk to Hartley about it and hope for the best, but that could just as easily fail. Cisco could ignore her, or his reluctance would cause the conversation to fail and her work just that much harder. He needed confidence and encouragement.

“You O.K Cisco?” She asked. Cisco wasn't depressed looking per say, but all this pining and worrying from him was starting to seep into the air around him. Soon Caitlyn and Barry would begin to notice.

“I'm fine.” He said.

“Well I was thinking. I know this girl, an intern at my work. She's looking for someone to come with her to a party she has to report on.”

“Uhm. I appreciate the sentiment Iris, but I'm not... really...”

“I understand.” She said quickly. “I'll let her know.”

The next week she asked him if he would like to accompany an old college friend to a wedding in town. The week after that she told Barry about a waitress at the Dumpling Fun restaurant who had been staring at his ass when they picked up take out and he relayed that message to Cisco.

None of these people actually said any of that. The intern at her work didn't need someone to go with her, the college friend was in Italy for a year, and the waitress was married. But each and every time Cisco turned the invitation down and went back to his work with a red face.

Iris' goal was not to get him a date, but to slowly boost his confidence. That may not get him to finally dial that number, but she was hoping that he would stand up a little straighter and the next time he saw Hartley.

Hartley, on the other hand, got a different treatment. As he reconciled with his family he spent more time outside. She'd find him in Jitters more often than not, and she immediately corner him and relay all the information she could on Cisco. She'd tell him about Cisco's work and how busy they all were, and how he would mention how he wished Hartley was around to help him with this or that. She refrained from informing him of the pretend suitors for weeks, however, if only because revealing that too soon could scare him off. She had to make Hartley think that Cisco was interested and that there wasn't anyone better around trying to impress him.

To be fair there weren't. Cisco wasn't exactly the guy people hit on at the club.

“That's the girl who keeps hitting on Cisco.” She said jokingly, pointing to some random girl getting a mocha.

Hartley's neck cracked as he turn to get a good look at this mysterious girl. He immediately turned back and focused surprisingly hard on his cup of coffee.

“He ask her out than?”

“No, I don't think he's much interested. He just hasn't said to stop yet.”

“I see.” Hartley said. He quickly excused himself and took off somewhere. Iris went back to work after that.

She didn't have the need to go back to S.T.A.R labs for a few days, but when Barry took a quick trip to the East coast she found herself stopping by just to see what everyone was working on.

Turns out Cisco wasn't' doing much work. He and Hartley had been stuck in the same spot making diagrams and laughing at something Cisco had found on the internet.

Caitlyn had not so subtly stuck a label with the word “cyanide” to her water bottle as if either of them would notice it.


End file.
